8 Teams, 1 Champion, 1 Cup

After 15 months international wheelchair basketball is back on court!

Today the Quarter finals of the Champions Cup 2021 took place in Wetzlar, Germany, hosted by RSV Lahn-Dill. The game schedule and mode are easy and at the same time really challenging. Eight Teams among the best in Europe, coming from Germany, Spain and Italy are playing against each other in a direct elimination tournament. These are the 4 teams that secured the first important victory: Bidaideak Bilbao BSR, RSB Thuringia Bulls, CD Ilunion, and RSV Lahn-Dill

RSB Thuringia Bulls – Baskets96 Rahden 77-66
The Champions Cup 2021 started with an exciting first game. The EuroCup defending champion RSB Thuringia Bulls lead the game against Baskets96 Rahden since the beginning closing it at 77-66. The last shot was made 11 seconds from the end of the game from Krzysztof Bandura, scoring 3 points for Baskets96 Rahden.

The game started with RSB Thuringia Bulls winning the tap off. After one minute, the first 3 points shot was scored by Baskets96 Rahden, which was not able to score another point until half of the first quarter. RSB Thuringia Bulls closed the first two periods respectively at 18-14 and 38-24 – leading by 14 points by halftime. In the second half of the game, RSB Thuringia Bulls kept increasing the score difference to 61-39 by the end of the third period. The last period saw Baskets96 Rahden closing the final gap to 11 points.

Vahid Gholamazad, RSB Thuringia Bulls, closed the game as a points and total rebounds leader, with 31 points scored. Assists leader of the game goes to Mustafa Korkmaz from Baskets96 Rahden.

CD Ilunion – GSD Porto Torres 81-45
What a great second game! CD Ilunion closed the game with 36 points more than the opponent GSD Porto Torres and with a final result of 81-45.
The tap off was won by GSD Porto Torres. However, since the beginning, CD Ilunion started to take distance from the opponent, closing first at 20-9 and successively at 41-30. In the second half, the leading team kept increasing the gap to 61-43 at the end of the third period. No chance was left to GSD Porto Torres, which was able to score only 2 points (Cristian Gomez) in the last period, while CD Ilunion scored 20 more points.
Points leader of the game is Soufyane Mehiaoui, GSD Porto Torres, with a total of 31 points scored during the game. Total rebounds and assists leaders, from CD Ilunion, are respectively Bill Latham and Jacob Williams.

BSR Amiab Albacete – Bidaideak Bilbao BSR 77-79
Another amazing game: BSR Amiab Albacete and Bidaideak Bilbao BSR fought in a point-to-point match. After a long match, Bidaideak Bilbao BSR won by 2 points.
The game started with the ball to BSR Amiab Albacete. At halftime the score was 32-30 for BSR Amiab Albacete. Both teams kept scoring points without leaving the opponent take big advantage. 8 minutes were left to the end of the fourth period and the score signed 55-55. The time kept running and at 40 seconds left, it was 68-68. Scoring two free throws, Jordi Ruiz Jordan took Bidaideak Bilbao BSR to 70. Just 20 seconds and Ghazain Choudhry scored 2 points leading again to a tie and to overtime. The overtime was not different from the rest of the game. Finally, Bidaideak Bilbao BSR closed the game at 77-79, with Jannik Blair scoring 2 points at 30 seconds from the end.
Assists and points leaders are on BSR Amiab Albacete side with Ghazain Choudhry and Kyle Marsh. Total Rebounds leader is Asier Garciá Pereiro from Bidaideak Bilbao BSR.

RSV Lahn-Dill – BSR ACE Gran Canaria 61-59
The day ended with another exciting game! RSV Lahn-Dill was in front of BSR ACE Gran Canaria for most of the game and closed the game with just two points more than the opponent.
The end of the first half saw RSV Lahn-Dill leading the game with 32-24. In the second half, BSR ACE Gran Canaria managed to close the gap. At just one minute from the end of the game the score was 59-56 and at 14 seconds left 59-59. Unfortunately, it was not enough as RSV Lahn-Dill closed the game at 61-59.
Points leader on the game is Steven Serio from RSV Lahn-Dill with 23 scored points. Total rebounds and assists leaders are both on BSR ACE Gran Canaria side with Mendel Op Den Orth and Jorge Edoardo Sanchez.

Tomorrow game schedule – May 1st:
12:30 Baskets96 Rahden – BSR Amiab Albacete
15:00 GSD Porto Torres – BSR ACE Gran Canaria
17:30 Bidaideak Bilbao BSR – RSB Thuringia Bulls
20:00 RSV Lahn-Dill – CD Ilunion

Special measures have been prepared to ensure the Champions Cup can proceed with safety and the health of everyone participating in mind. Regular testing for coronavirus is mandatory for everyone involved and the participants are forming a ‘bubble’ with no contact outside the hotel and arena.